Chief technical officer appointed

ABB has appointed Prith Banerjee to its Executive Committee in the role of Chief Technology Officer. Banerjee, 51, will start midyear 2012 and will be based in Zurich.

He joins ABB from Hewlett Packard, where he was Senior Vice President of Research and Director of HP Labs. Prior to that, Banerjee was Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, as well as Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Banerjee has also held senior positions at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and at Northwestern University. In 2000, he founded AccelChip, Inc., a developer of products and services for electronic design automation that was acquired by Xilinx in 2006. He succeeds Peter Terwiesch, who became head of ABB in Germany and manager of ABB’s Central Europe region in July 2011.

“Prith is a creative and entrepreneurial researcher and executive with a wealth of experience in the business and academic worlds,” said Joe Hogan, ABB’s chief executive officer. “He is well placed to help ABB build on its heritage of technology innovation and leadership.”

Banerjee has a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana.

Discount on T&M instruments in Europe

Keithley Instruments is offering 20% off list price on a range of broad-purpose Test & Measurement instruments to its European customers. The offer is available for a limited period of time, starting with immediate effect and ending on June 30, 2012. 

The offer includes instruments from the following product families:

* Source&Measure SourceMeter Instruments (SMUs)

* Integrated Switch/Multimeter Instruments 

* A range of programmable DC Power Supplies

Fibre-optic pioneer strengthens growth support

FBGS, manufacturer of innovative Fibre Bragg Gratings using a draw tower process have appointed two new staff members to support the company’s growth into Europe and North America.

Nick Plescia and David Johnson have joined the company to help coordinate and support commercial activities in these regions.

 Nick is a fibre optic specialist and is already known to many within the industry. He is the North American sales contact for FBGS, based from his home in Montreal (CDN).

David comes from the test & measurement industry and has worked in marketing and sales roles with traditional sensor technologies in South Africa and Britain where he has been responsible for establishing routes to market and the introduction of new sensor technologies.

CEO Hugo Mertens stated “this is a particularly exciting time for our company as the unique strengths of our Draw Tower Gratings are helping our customers develop solutions for many challenging sensing applications. The appointment of new staff in these territories represents a critical milestone for the company and the technology, as we continue to respond proactively to customer enquiries the World over.”

Thermo-paramagnetic Oxygen analyser

Michell Instruments has released details of the XTP601, the latest addition to its range of oxygen analysers. Based on the highly stable thermo-paramagnetic sensor, the XTP601 provides fast, accurate measurements of oxygen levels in various background gases.

Capable of measuring Oxygen from 0-1% up to 0-25% and suppressed zero ranges, such as 90-100%, the analyser provides solutions for applications ranging from biogas plants to monitoring blanketing gases in oil tankers.

The XTP601 is configurable to suit specific applications and budgets with three options:
• Blind transmitter version (settings, controls and readings accessible via application software)
• Transmitter with status LEDs (settings, controls and readings accessible via application software)
• Full display analyser (settings and readings are accessible with on-screen controls or via application software)

All of these options may be rated for either safe or hazardous area use. Hazardous area classifications are available for ATEX, IEC Ex with CCSAUS pending approval.

The full display version of the XTP601 has a touch screen interface to enable easy operation without needing to remove the lid. This means that users can calibrate, change settings and interrogate the instrument in the hazardous area without the need for a ‘hot permit’. Menus allow easy access to information on oxygen concentration; analyser status; a graph showing oxygen trends over a user-defined time period; alarm history; minimum and maximum concentrations and other parameters to aid diagnosis of plant conditions.

Free software is available for the XTP601 to enable users to monitor, operate and calibrate any version of the instrument remotely via a PC or control system.

Benefits of close-coupled instrumentation for leakage control

A diverse range of flanged products aimed at eliminating potential leak paths in process instrumentation connections will be highlighted at the Global Petroleum Show (12/14 June 2012) by the Instrumentation Products Division of Parker Hannifin. In particular, the company is showing the latest additions to its extensive monoflange and Pro-Bloc ranges of block and bleed valves, including versions that comply with the Class A ultra-low-emission requirements of the international ISO 15848 standard. Also on display is a new series of flushing rings that eliminate the need for port adapters.

Parker's monoflange and Pro-Bloc valves are designed to couple instrumentation to the process lines as closely as possible, and to eliminate any use of threaded components - the valve vents can incorporate single- or two-ferrule compression type tube fittings. By combining all necessary primary and secondary valves on a single one-piece body, which mounts directly onto a process flange without use of additional fittings, both series of products reduce the number of potential leak paths substantially. They also help cut installation time and cost. A wide choice of valve configurations - including single block and bleed, and double block and bleed - provides a very flexible interconnection scheme, enabling plant engineers to match requirements very easily.

Parker goes to considerable lengths to ensure the material used for its flanged products is of the highest quality. Raw material is sourced from mills and foundries outside the Asia-Pacific region, with fully traceable records for quality audit purposes. Furthermore, each flange is forged from a single piece of grain flow controlled steel. As standard, they can be fabricated from A105 carbon steel, AF350 LF2 low temperature carbon steel, A182-F316 stainless steel and A182-F51 duplex stainless steel. Optional exotic alloy materials include super duplex, alloy 400, 6Mo and alloy 625. Parker has developed considerable production expertise in 6Mo - which is fast becoming one of the most popular materials for high integrity process applications - and is able to deliver custom valve configurations with very short lead times.

Also showing is a new series of flushing rings which employ a novel 'oversize' design to maximize flexibility. Flushing rings are normally used between a process isolation valve and the diaphragm seal of a pressure transmitter; side ports on the ring allow flushing media to be injected and ejected so that the diaphragm can be 'washed' free of deposits which affect measurement accuracy. A conventional flushing ring has a smaller diameter than the process and diaphragm seal flanges, and is simply held in place by the pressure exerted by the flange bolts. The flushing ports consequently require extension adapters to bring their valves clear of the flanges, potentially introducing additional leak paths.

Parker's flushing rings are the same diameter as the flanges, eliminating the need for flushing port adapters, and the valves can be supplied screwed or welded directly onto the ring's external face, reducing installation time and costs. Parker produces two types of flushing rings. One has through-holes for the flange bolts and is designed for use with same-size flanges on both sides. The other has a tapered internal bore and two different flange faces with captive studs, designed for fitting between flanges with different diameters. Typically, this could be used when a 2-inch process-side flange is coupled to a 3-inch transmitter-side flange, to maximise diaphragm size for improved measurement accuracy

Improving efficiency in milk processing

The North German company Hansa-Milch based in Upahl in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region took the decision to deploy Siemens technology for its milk delivery process – from the weighing system to the tank discharge points. Using RFID solutions as well as IWLAN and Simatic S7 control technology, Hansa- Milch has achieved a marked increase in efficiency across the entire milk processing work flow – from delivery through processing to product traceability.

With the changeover to Siemens Industry Automation Division technology, Hansa- Milch has achieved a significant increase in the efficiency of its milk supply operations. By extending the scope of acquisition data, for instance, the new technology permits specific differentiation of milk types, whether certified organic or freedom foods categories through to specially protected regions of origin. Since the modernization was completed, Hansa-Milch has relied on industrial WLAN, RFID and Simatic-S7 control technology from the point of milk delivery through to dispatch. The central element is an ingenious weighing system in operation as the trucks arrive and depart.

The new system has allowed Hansa-Milch (a subsidiary of the German-Danish- Swedish corporation Arla Foods), to optimise its work processes and reduce the workload for all those involved, from truck drivers and gatekeepers to production employees. The seamless electronic verification chain generated to ensure product traceability allows Hansa-Milch to now respond to suppliers’ questions quickly and to a high standard of quality.

New members' news!

The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) tells us that NOFFZ Computer Technology, Toenisvorst, Germany, recently became CSIA Certified. Avanceon, Exton, Pa., U.S., and Sage Automation, Melrose Park, South Australia, Australia, recently became recertified as CSIA Certified members.

CSIA Annual Conference in Scottsdale AZ USA

In other membership news, the following control system integrators recently joined the association as associate members:
• Advansys (Pty) Ltd., Johannesburg, South Africa
• ATSys, Parkside, South Australia, Australia
• Infamation Technologies Group, LLC, Jacksonville, Fla., U.S.
• IPACT, Valparaiso, Ind., U.S.
• NNE Pharmaplan, Morrisville, N.C., U.S.
• SCAP, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
• Southlake Automation, Inc., Merrillville, Ind., U.S.
• Systems Anywhere, North Riding, South Africa

New participating members include:
• Descom Industrial Process S.A.C., Jesus Maria, Lima, Peru
• Electrical Engineering Consultants, P.C., Aurora, Ill., U.S.
• NexCtrl Inc., Wyomissing, Pa., U.S.

New partner members are:
• EXELE, East Rochester, N.Y., U.S.
• HMS Industrial Networks, Inc., Chicago, Ill., U.S.
• Panduit, Tinley Park, Ill., U.S.
• Progea USA, LLC, Appleton, Wis., U.S.
• Schmersal Inc., Tarrytown, N.Y., U.S.
• WEG Electric Corp., Duluth, Ga., U.S.
• Wohner USA, LLC, Portsmouth, N.H., U.S.

To become a CSIA Certified member, a member company must pass an intensive audit process with stringent performance standards categories in nine categories: general management, financial management, project management, quality management, technical management, human resources management and marketing, business development and sales management.

Certified members are re-audited every three years and recertified if they meet current performance standards. The certification criteria is spelled out in CSIA’s Best Practices and Benchmarks, the accepted roadmap for system integrators committed to delivering the level of quality, performance and long-term support their customers expect.